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Historian Revisits French Roots in Oahu Graveyard

Catherine Cruz

 

  Nanette Napoleon sounds French enough. Hawaii’s cemetery historian shares with us she has family ties to French President Napoleon Bonaparte but through his brother Lucien and his time in Tahiti.  But it was a visit to Pere La Chaisein Paris that Napoleon discovered her passion for places for the dead. She had just graduated from the University of Hawaii was on a backpacking trip through Europe when someone suggested she go find Jim Morrison’s grave.

We spent time with Napoleon at the Oahu Cemetery on Memorial Day pouring over the Book of Record looking for the French Connections in the graveyard. She shared her memory of Per La Chaise.

 

Catherine Cruz is the host of The Conversation. Originally from Guam, she spent more than 30 years at KITV, covering beats from government to education. Contact her at ccruz@hawaiipublicradio.org.
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